Both of us will want to be bigger, visible, effective: EAM on China ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements which would enable return of the situation before May 2020

Noting that India and China have unresolved boundary issues, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday that if two large neighbouring countries rise next to each other in the same time frame, it's not too easy and that anybody predicting developments of this century cannot leave the two countries out of that equation.

During an interaction at the NDTV World Summit, Jaishankar said the two countries have a certain civilization history and they are on a track of economic recovery or rejuvenation.

He said both countries will naturally want to be bigger, more visible and more effective in the world.

 

"India-China, we are the only two countries with more than a billion people. We have a certain civilization history and today we are on a track of economic recovery or rejuvenation. Anybody who's predicting developments of this century definitely cannot leave India and China out of that equation...Here is the challenge for us which is that we are neighbours, and we have unresolved boundary issues. They have been rising, we have also been rising, so if two large neighbouring countries rise next to each other in the same time frame, it's not too easy. So managing this double rise, you can say that to in proximity, it's a different issue and I think these will require a lot of skill and diplomacy," he said.

"The truth is our capabilities will change, our influence will change, our ambitions will change. Both of us will naturally want to be bigger, more visible and more effective in the world," he added.

He said India and China have reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements which would enable return of the situation before May 2020. Border tensions arose in eastern Ladakh along Line of Actual Control in 2020 due to actions of Chinese military.

He said it was a "positive and good" development.

Jaishankar referred to the remarks of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the agreement on patrolling points along Line of Actual Control.

"What Foreign Secretary has said is what I can also say, that we reached an agreement on patrolling and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020. We can say that the disengagement process with China has been completed...There are areas which for various reasons after 2020 because they had blocked us so we had blocked them. So what has happened is we have reached an understanding which will allow the patrolling," he said.

"I think the understanding to my knowledge is that we will be able to do the patrolling which we were doing in 2020. I think it's a good development. It's a positive development and I would say it's a product of very patient and very persevering diplomacy. We've been negotiating since September 2020, when I met my counterpart Wang Yi, in Moscow at that time...I think it creates a basis that peace and tranquility, which there should be in the border areas, which there was before 2020, we will be able to come back to that," he added.

The actions of Chinese military in 2020 along the LAC in eastern Ladakh had put the bilateral relationship under "exceptional stress".

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who addressed a special media briefing ahead of PM Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS Summit, said India and China have reached an agreement on the patrolling arrangements along Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The agreement was reached ahead of the BRICS Summit which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Misri said as a result of the discussions with the Chinese interlocutors an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas.

He said this is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that arose after action by Chinese military in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

"We have been in discussion with Chinese interlocuters through WMCC as was mentioned earlier and at the military level as well through meetings of the military commanders at various levels. These discussions have in the past resulted in the resolution of standoffs at various locations. You are also aware that there were a few locations where the standoff had not been resolved," he said.

"Now as a result of the discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks an agreement has been arrived at on patroling arrangements along the line of actual control in the India-China border areas and this is leading to dis-engagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020."

Though no information is yet available on PM Modi's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of BRICS Summit, the agreement on patrolling arrangements could pave the way for a meeting between PM Modi and the Chinese President.

MEA had said after the last Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) held in August that the two sides had "a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the LAC to narrow down the differences"."In line with the guidance provided by two Foreign Ministers' meetings in Astana and Vientiane in July 2024 to accelerate their discussion, and building on the WMCC meeting held last month, the two sides had a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues. For this, they further agreed for intensified contact through diplomatic and military channels," MEA said in a release.

It said the two sides have decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two Governments.

The release reiterated that restoration of peace and tranquility, and respect for LAC are the essential basis for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations.

The WMCC meeting was held in Beijing.

PM Modi will visit Russia on October 22, 23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit, being held in Kazan, under the Chairmanship of Russia.

The Summit, themed 'Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security,' will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues.MEA said in a release that the Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration.

It said PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders.